Audit highlights Council's clear vision for the Falkirk area
Following a wide ranging audit, the Accounts Commission has found Falkirk Council to offer its residents a 'clear vision for the area' and noted strengths in 'leadership, customer focus and equal opportunities'.
The report, published today (23 May), describes Falkirk Council as delivering a 'good, solid performance' as well as being 'an ambitious organisation' which 'works successfully with strategic partners through community planning to deliver major projects and initiatives, bringing real benefits to the area and its communities'.
For more information, you can read ourpress release| or download the full Audit of Best Value and Community Planning Falkirk Council report (PDF, 886KB)|.|
Falkirk Council meeting to consider the Accounts Commission's findings
The Falkirk Council meeting on 25 June will consider a report on the findings of the Accounts Commission in relation to the Audit of Best Value and Community Planning, carried out by Audit Scotland under the terms of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003.
The Commission found that Falkirk Council offers its residents a clear vision for the area and noted strengths in leadership, customer focus and equal opportunities. The audit report describes Falkirk Council as delivering good, solid performance and as an ambitious organisation which works successfully with strategic partners through community planning to deliver major projects and initiatives, bringing real benefits to the area and its communities. It also acknowledges that the Council has a good awareness of where it needs to improve.
A copy of the agenda and papers for this meeting will be available for inspection from Friday 20 June 2008 at the main reception office, Falkirk Council, Municipal Buildings, Falkirk. The agenda, minutes and public reports for this meeting and all the main Council committees can be viewed online by going to COINS (the Committee Information pages).|
What is Best Value?
Best Value is a government initiative launched in 1997, to encourage public services to provide continuously improving service delivery.
Falkirk Council provides services every day of the year to every person who lives or works in the Falkirk area. These services range widely from providing education for children and care for older people, through to refuse collection and Council housing. Best Value applies to all of these services, functions and activities across Falkirk Council.
Best Value is about:
-
putting you, our customer, at the centre of everything we do
-
challenging what we do and how we do it
-
finding better ways of doing things
-
focusing on quality as well as cost
-
demonstrating our current levels of performance and making improvements where necessary
-
demonstrating continuous improvement in everything we do
-
demonstrating to you that we are providing value for money
Audit of Best Value & Community Planning
The Audit of Best Value & Community Planning is a rolling programme carried out by Audit Scotland to audit every Council in Scotland. Falkirk Council was audited over a number of months in 2007 and 2008. Audit Scotland published its final report on Falkirk Council on 23 May 2008. It can be downloaded from the Audit Scotland website.
The audit process
The audit process began in March 2007 with the Council providing Audit Scotland with a written submission about all aspects of its work, including our own view of our performance and a plan covering any areas we need to improve. Our submission took as its theme the dramatic physical, environmental and social changes in the Council area during recent years, summed up as 'Falkirk looks better, feels better, thinks differently'.
-
Falkirk looks better
There are iconic new buildings, an exciting strategy to transform our town centres, better housing, good parks and open spaces, new roads, business parks and schools.
-
Falkirk feels better
The community has higher ambition and increased civic pride, our external reputation has been transformed, we have an informed understanding of what needs to be improved, a higher national profile, more engaged citizens, more effective partnerships and healthier, safer and more robust communities.
-
Falkirk thinks differently
We are more innovative and creative, greener and cleaner, more confident about celebrating our achievements and telling others we're aiming high, more community focused and increasingly aspirational.
The Audit Scotland team took an in-depth look at all aspects of the Council, including its vision, leadership, performance and management arrangements. The auditors reviewed the vision for our area, how we measure and manage our performance, how we consult and engage with our local communities, how we manage risk and our resources; and how we support and develop our 7,000 employees.